Shichiku
紫竹/SHEE-chee-koo/
Purple bamboo — rare and premium.
Also known as: purple bamboo
Shichiku is a rare variety of bamboo with a faint purple-brown culm, used for high-end ceremonial chasen. Stiffer than white bamboo (susudake), often longer-lasting than black bamboo (kurodake), and almost never seen outside specialty Japanese tea retailers. A shichiku chasen runs $80 to $150 and is a collector's choice — for daily home matcha, it's overkill.
In practice
- Purple bamboo, the third traditional chasen material alongside white and black. The tint is subtle — closer to a warm dark brown than an obvious purple.
- Sits between white and black bamboo for stiffness, which makes it a reasonable all-rounder.
- Comparatively uncommon in export ranges, so most Western buyers will not encounter it outside specialist Japanese retailers.
The common mistake
Expecting the vivid colour the name suggests. Photographs are frequently colour-boosted; the real thing is understated.
